Ukraine's cooperation with international organizations

Ukraine's cooperation with international organizations

UKRAINE - THE UNITED NATIONS The United Nations (UN) is a global international organization founded on October 24, 1945, at a conference in San Francisco on the basis of the United Nations Party. The purpose of the organization is to maintain and strengthen peace and international security and to develop cooperation among the world's states. The founding members are 51 states (including Ukraine). As of 2011, the UN had 193 member states. Western Sahara and other small states have not joined the UN because they are not recognized. The organization is funded by mandatory and voluntary contributions from its member states, and uses six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

UN STRUCTURE - consists of five main bodies: UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), UN International Court of Justice, UN Secretariat (+Secretary-General). UN GENERAL ASSEMBLYis the main deliberative, policy-making and representative body of the United Nations, established in 1945 under the UN Charter. The General Assembly consists of 193 UN members and is a forum for discussing the full range of international issues set out in the Charter. The Assembly meets in regular annual session from September to December and thereafter as needed.

Each state may be represented by a delegation of no more than five persons. One member state of the organization has one vote in the General Assembly. Each country is represented by a high-ranking diplomat, but from time to time, foreign ministers and even heads of state also attend the GA sessions. Decisions on certain important issues, such as recommendations on peace and security and the election of members of the Security Council, require a two-thirds majority of member states; decisions on other issues are taken by a simple majority.

Functions : Consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including disarmament, and make recommendations thereon; discuss any questions relating to the maintenance of international peace and security and make recommendations on these matters, except when the dispute or situation is under consideration by the Security Council;organize studies and make recommendations for the promotion of international political cooperation, the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the promotion of international cooperation in the economic, social and humanitarian fields and in the fields of culture, education and health;

recommends measures for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might disturb friendly relations between nations;receive and consider reports of the Security Council and other UN bodies;consider and approve the budget of the United Nations and set the amount of contributions of member stateselects non-permanent members of the Security Council and members of other UN councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoints the Secretary-General.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL is responsible for the maintenance of peace and security between UN member states. The UN Security Council has the right to make binding decisions that are submitted to the United Nations as Security Council resolutions. Consisting of 15 member states, which in turn are divided into 5 permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America - and 10 non-permanent members, on October 15, 2015, Ukraine, Egypt, Senegal, Uruguay and Japan were elected as new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for a two-year term. 

The five permanent members of the Council have the right to “veto” major issues, but not procedural resolutions, which allows a permanent member to block decision-making, but does not allow them to block discussion of the resolution itself, even if it is not acceptable to them. The ten temporary seats on the UN Security Council are determined for a two-year term from the UN member states voted for by the UN General Assembly and on a regional basis, respectively. The President of the UN Security Council is appointed alphabetically each month.

Functions. Investigates any dispute or any situation which may give rise to international clashes or give rise to a dispute threatening the maintenance of international peace and security; Determines the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression and makes recommendations or decides what measures should be taken to maintain and restore international peace and security;applies coercive measures to states that violate international peace and security;may send peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ended or temporarily stopped to ensure compliance with the terms of peace agreements and prevent combatants from resuming hostilities.   

THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (UNESCO) assists the UN General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC consists of 54 UN members, all of whom are elected by the UN General Assembly for a three-year term. The President of ECOSOC is elected for a one-year term and is chosen from among the small and medium-sized states represented in ECOSOC. The Council meets once a year in July, with sessions lasting four weeks. Since 1998, it has also started to hold an additional meeting every April with finance ministers and representatives who chair key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ECOSOC is well versed in providing policy advice and solutions to policy disputes and in coordinating and overlapping some of the functions of UN bodies in the supportive sectors, and it is in this role that ECOSOC is most active.

Functionsdiscusses international economic and social issues of a global and cross-cutting nature and develops policy recommendations on these issues for Member States and the UN system;Conducts research, prepares reports, and develops recommendations on international problems in the economic and social spheres to the General Assembly, Members of the Organization and interested specialized agencies; encourages states to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all; 

convenes international conferences and drafts conventions for submission to the General Assembly on matters within its competence; negotiates with specialized agencies on arrangements and agreements concerning the relations of these agencies with the UN; coordinates the activities of the specialized agencies through consultations with them and recommendations; Provides services and assistance (as authorized by the General Assembly) to UN Members and to the specialized agencies at the request of the latter; advises relevant non-governmental organizations on matters within its competence. 

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (The Hague, the Netherlands). It was founded in 1945 in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. The purpose of the International Court of Justice is to resolve disputes between states. The Court considers cases related to war crimes, unlawful interference by states and ethnic cleansing, and continues to consider other legal cases. Only states can be parties to cases before the Court. The Court may be approached by the parties to its Charter, which automatically includes all UN members. A non-member state may become a party to the Statute under conditions determined in each individual case by the UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the UN Security Council.  

Functions considers legal disputes between states related to the violation of international treaties and obligations or arising from their interpretation; adopts binding decisions on all disputes submitted by states for its consideration; gives advisory, non-binding opinions on legal issues at the request of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council and other UN bodies with the authorization of the UN GA.

UN SECRETARIAT provides research, information and funds necessary for the United Nations bodies to conduct their meetings and routine activities. It also carries out tasks as directed by the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and Social Council and other UN bodies. The Charter stipulates that staff members shall not seek or receive instructions fromreceive instructions from any authority other than the UN. Each UN member state is encouraged to respect the international character of the Secretariat and not to attempt to influence its staff.

The UN Secretary-General is responsible for recruitment. He/she is appointed by the General Assembly (can serve 2 terms - 10 years), after being recommended by the UN Security Council. The Secretary General must not come from one of the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council. He can bring to the UN Security Council any issues that, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security, and provide his position for most actions on the world stage. The position of the UN Secretary-General is reduced to a dual role- administrator of the UN organization, and a diplomat - a mediator in resolving disputes between UN member states and finding consensus on global issues.

Functionsmanagement of peacekeeping operations;organizing international conferences on issues of global importance;Preparing reviews of global economic and social trends and issues;conducting research;translation of speeches and documents; providing the world's media with information about the UN's activities.   

UKRAINE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS from the very first days of its creation. While still part of the USSR, the Ukrainian delegation took an active part in the formation of the UN. Ukraine can be called a model member of the UN. No other country in the world has done more for global security than Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear arsenal. This step was a concrete confirmation of Ukraine's sincere commitment to peace and security in the world.

UKRAINE - WTOThe World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization. Location: Geneva, Switzerland. The WTO was established in January 1995 following the signing of a multilateral agreement in Marrakesh (Morocco) on April 15, 1994. It succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), an organization that existed from 1947 to 1994 and had 128 members. The purpose of the organization is to develop a system of legal norms of international trade and monitor their observance. The main objectives are to ensure the long-term and stable functioning of the system of international trade relations, liberalization of international trade, and the gradual abolition of customs and trade restrictions.

Principlestrade without discrimination, i.e., mutual granting of most favored nation (MFN) treatment in trade;trade regulation mainly by tariff methods;refusal to use quantitative and other restrictions;transparency of trade policy;settlement of trade disputes through negotiations. Functions of the WTO control over the implementation of the agreements and arrangements of the Uruguay Round package;conducting multilateral trade negotiations and consultations between interested member countries;settlement of trade disputes;review of national trade policies of member countries;technical assistance to states on issues within the WTO's competence;cooperation with international organizations.

Legal framework - Eight rounds of multilateral negotiations were held within the GATT aimed at trade liberalization, elimination of tariff restrictions and reduction of customs duties. In the course of negotiations, 28 agreements were concluded that form the basis of the WTO legal framework, the main ones being: General Agreement on Trade in Services;Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights;Agreement on Dispute Settlement;Agreement on Agriculture;Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade;Agreement on Rules of Origin; Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures;Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures;Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures;Agreement on Safeguards.

WTO Membership as of 2015 161 countries are members of the WTO, 22 countries are in accession negotiations. Membership in the WTO provides for mandatory participation in all multilateral agreements, except for a few with a limited number of participants. Governing bodies - The highest body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which convenes every 2 years and makes the most important decisions in the field of trade.

The governing body is the WTO General Council. This body meets every two months to oversee the functioning of the organization and the implementation of the relevant agreements. The General Council also acts as the highest body for dispute settlement and review of trade policies of member countries. The WTO Secretariat is located in Geneva and is headed by the Director-General, who is assisted by 4 deputies. The official languages are English, French and Spanish.

Ukraine's accession to the WTO (May 16, 2008) opened up prospects for the development of the national economy. Ukraine, on absolutely equal terms and rights with other members of the organization, is directly involved in the formation of the latest trade rules in the world market in order to maximize the national interests of our country in the trade and economic sphere. As a member of the WTO, Ukraine has been granted the right to use the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, which facilitates fair resolution of any disputes regarding compliance with the provisions of the WTO agreements. Within the framework of this mechanism, a number of important issues were positively resolved, namely discriminatory taxation and licensing of certain types of Ukrainian products. Ukraine's membership in the WTO created the necessary preconditions for launching negotiations with the European Union on a free trade area.

UKRAINE - IMFThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established on December 27, 1945, after 29 states signed an agreement developed at the UN Conference on Monetary and Financial Affairs on July 22, 1944. The authorized capital is formed by contributions from member states, each of which usually pays approximately 25% of its quota or in the currency of other members, and the remaining 75% in its national currency. Votes are distributed among the member countries in the IMF's governing bodies based on the size of the quota. The United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Russia hold the largest number of votes in the IMF. The EU's share is 33.3%, and developed countries together hold more than 60% of the IMF's votes. The share of all other countries, which make up more than 84% of the Fund's membership, is only about 40%.

The IMF's reserve currencies are the US dollar, euro, British pound, and Japanese yen. In November 2015, the IMF decided to add the Chinese yuan to this list starting from October 1, 2016. The IMF is headquartered in Washington, DC, USA.

The purpose of the IMF is to to promote international cooperation in monetary and financial matters;to promote the expansion and balanced growth of international trade in the interests of developing productive resources, achieving high employment and real incomes of member states; to ensure the stability of currencies, to maintain orderly ratios of the currency system among member states and to prevent the depreciation of currencies in order to gain competitive advantages; to assist in the creation of a multilateral system of settlements between member states, as well as in the elimination of currency restrictions;to temporarily provide member states with funds in foreign currency in order to correct imbalances in their balance of payments.

Functions of the IMF Promoting international cooperation in monetary policy;expansion of world trade;lending;stabilization of monetary exchange rates. Members of the IMF The IMF's members are 189 members of the United Nations. Former members are Cuba, which withdrew from the IMF in 1964, and the Republic of China (Taiwan), which was replaced by the PRC in the UN in 1980. In addition to Cuba, six other UN member states do not belong to the IMF: North Korea, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Nauru, and South Sudan. The Cook Islands, Niue, the Vatican, and other states with limited recognition are also not members of the IMF

Number of employees - approximately 2,663 from 148 countries. Total amount of quotas - USD 650 billion (as of 9/13/2016) Largest borrowers - amounts disbursed and outstanding as of 2/29/2015: Portugal, Greece, Ukraine, Ireland. Preventive loans - largest preventive loans (amounts approved as of 0/3/2016): Mexico, Poland, Colombia, Morocco Consultations - consultations within the framework of supervision: 130 consultations in 2013, 132 consultations in 2014, and 124 consultations in 2015 Technical assistance - 285 person-years in FY 2014 and 288 person-years in FY 2015.